Kyle Wilson's Stupid Penalties Almost Cost New York Jets A Win

By Matthew Solomon

Ed Muholland-USA TODAY Sports

Since being taken 29th overall in the 2010 NFL draft, cornerback Kyle Wilson has had a whirlwind of a career. He has his good days and his bad on the field, just like everybody else. It seems, more often than not, Wilson is making mistakes that have almost cost his team. Yesterday the New York Jets were able to cover Wilson’s mistakes, squeaking out a 27-20 win over the Buffalo Bills. Wilson’s boneheaded plays really did almost cost the Jets the game.

The Jets set a new franchise record for penalties in a game with 20. Do you know how many of those 20 penalties where Wilson’s? Five. That’s right, Wilson was flagged for five different penalties yesterday, including four in a row in the fourth quarter. Those penalties kept a drive alive for Buffalo that allowed EJ Manual to throw a 33-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 20. The four flags on Wilson were for defensive holding, illegal contact with a receiver (which negated a defensive stop on third down), a personal foul (which in part negated a fumble recovered by the Jets) and another personal foul. Luckily for the Jets and their fans, Wilson was benched for the next series.

This, to me, has been too much of a problem with Wilson. I understand that players are going to get flagged for penalties in football; it happens to everybody. With Wilson, it’s happening too often. It’s not just the penalties either. There have been times where he has been getting burned by opposing receivers too. It’s a combination of the two that are getting on my nerves with Wilson.

Wilson has been in the league now for three, going on four years. He has enough experience playing in this league to where he should know not to be making these kinds of mistakes. I would cut him a little more slack if he was, say, a rookie, but Wilson isn’t a rookie. He’s been around the block in this game a few times, so he should know what he’s doing. I know he plays a physical game, but he really needs to get it together, and soon, otherwise he might not have an NFL job much longer.

What do you think?

Matthew Solomon covers the NFL, MLB and NHL for Rant Sports. You can follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, and join my Google Network!